


A moment of peace

by MemoryMonkey



Category: Log Horizon
Genre: F/M, Fluff, I retain that Akatsuki is best girl and I will not have my opinion taken from me, Massage
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-09
Updated: 2019-05-09
Packaged: 2020-02-29 05:47:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18772435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MemoryMonkey/pseuds/MemoryMonkey
Summary: Akatsuki, always by Shiroe's side even as he works, notices how tense he has become lately and tries to help him relax.





	A moment of peace

Shiroe sighed, his eyes trawling over paperwork. Sat in his office chair, he stared daggers into the documents in front of him, quill twirling between his fingers with surprising grace. The air was stuffy and the room felt more cramped with each second as Akatsuki diligently waited beside him in silence as to not disturb him.

He briefly leaned back to and opened his mouth as if to speak but quickly sat forwards again, writing furiously as if he had to quickly get out all the thoughts in his head before they disappeared. He was tense, shoulders hunched, knuckles white gripping the pen, jaw tense, eyebrows furrowed in a picture of dense concentration.

The ninja knew his quirks inside and out due to how much she'd stood by him at his desk while he worked. While he was often tense, it was usually nowhere near this bad. He was probably dealing with something inconvenient or possibly personal and it hurt to know she couldn't help.

Akatsuki's ear pricked as Shiroe sighed deep and long, leaning back into his seat in defeat.

"Is something the matter, my lord?"

Shiroe jumped, as he always did, despite how she was almost always there.

"Akatsuki. You scared me. I forgot you were here," Shiroe said with a chuckle, turning his body to face her.

"I'm glad I wasn't distracting you, my lord."

Shiroe paused, briefly glancing back at the paperwork.

"You're stressed, my lord. More so than usual."

"It's alright Akatsuki." He answered simply, eyes glazing over his work as they had been. Other nations had been unwilling to comply with the Round Table, having heard the worst of it from the rumours of Shiroe floating around Akihabara. Slowly he lowered the pen back onto the page and continued.

He paused again when he felt her hands on his shoulders.

"A-Akatsuki?"

"I'm glad I'm stood behind you because you've probably gone all wrinkly again."

"Thanks," he monotoned, now very distracted by the physical contact.

"You're too worked up, my lord," she said so softly it was almost a whisper in his ear. "Just take a deep breath and calm down." She continued, slowly moving her hands to massage his shoulders.

Shiroe froze as he felt her body up against his back, her warm breath against his ear. He glanced at her skilled fingers working at his shoulders, already feeling much better.

"Akatsuki, you don't have to-"

"I know, my lord," she continued in a soft whisper. "Just shut your eyes and take a deep breath." She was leaning even closer into him, her lips grazing his ear as she spoke.

"A... Alright..." he conceded, shutting his eyes and breathing deeply. She was right, he already felt far more relaxed. As his clogged up mind slowly started to clear, he felt like he didn't want to start working again. Against the hot air, her cool skin felt nice when her hands occasionally grazed his neck.

His hands, hidden from view under his desk, were awkwardly intertwined with each other. While the struggles of his workload washed straight out of his mind, he was getting flushed at their proximity. He could swear she was doing it deliberately, lips still right by his ear, her hands creeping inwards and massaging nearer his neck.

"Hey-" he jolted as her soft hands worked their way under his robe and continued their work on his bare shoulders.

"Your muscles are awfully knotted... I'm just trying to work out some of the knots, my lord, if that's okay?"

"I..."

Shiroe faced the ground as she continued, trying to muster a response. He couldn't work like this but he certainly wasn't going to say no. 

"I need you to relax. I can't do anything when you're this tense."

"S-sorry," he stammered, not realising how tense he had been. It was strange how suddenly Akatsuki had taken control.

"Theeere we go..." she continued, drawing out the first syllable, her fingers carefully kneading the back of his shoulders as he sat back again, arms resting on his lap.

"Thaaaaaat's it," Akatsuki whispered right in his ear, her lips grazing his skin again and sending tingles through his body. Shiroe shut his eyes, trying and failing to fight his rising heartbeat.

"What did you do to your back to get it so knotted?" She wondered aloud, continuing her work. "It's not just from sitting around all day is it?"

"I, um... do quite a lot of sitting down at my desk."

After a while Akatsuki paused.

"My lord?" She asked with concern. "You've stopped working and you're turning red. Are you okay?"

"It's slightly difficult to focus like this," he answered while awkwardly looking at the ground again.

"S-sorry my lord, I got carried away!" She realised, fear and guilt clear in her voice. "I became a distraction, I'll leave right now if you wan-"

"No," he cut her off softly, placing a hand on his own shoulder to rest on top of hers through the robe to calm her down. "It's fine."

"M-My lord?"

"You're good, Akatsuki. Please don't stop." He answered, fighting to keep his voice level.

"Th-thank you my lord!" He could just imagine how red she had turned at the compliment as her hands slowly resumed, that odd comforting feeling rushing back.

Shiroe felt the pressure slightly pick up as she moved from his shoulders to his upper back, running her hands over the surprisingly worn surface and scouting the area out carefully for knots. For a mage, especially one who does paperwork all day, he was well toned.

"You know my lord... People wish you would spend less time doing paperwork," she began.

"Hmm?" He responded simply, eyes shut.

"We all like you, Shiroe," she said with a smile. "I don't know why you find refuge in a villainous reputation and when I hear people talking badly about you in Akihabara it makes my blood boil." She paused and took a breath, feeling him start to tense again under her hands.

"But we all know you, my lord." She said softly, returning to gently kneading his shoulders. "Naotsugu, despite his many shortcomings, is really funny sometimes and you two really bounce off each other. Nyanta too, he talks very highly of you."

"He does? But he always disapproved of how antisocial I am-"

"Exactly. Marielle puts a lot of effort into dragging you out of your office sometimes-"

"I'm very aware of that-"

"Because she doesn't like seeing you so stressed."

Shiroe paused.

"And Rudy, Isuzu, Tohya, Serara - Minori... you know how much they look up to you."

There was a moment of silence as Akatsuki concluded all his knots were gone but he didn't need to know quite yet as she continued massaging his back under his robe.

"I... appreciate it, Akatsuki," he began. "But I'm not a social person and I have a lot to do."

"Hmmmmm," she hummed in response, slightly increasing the pressure again.

"And damn, you're good at this," he added.

"Thank you my lord," she whispered in his ear again. "I'm glad you like it though I'm a bit worried it's stunting your productivity a bit-"

"It's alright, I guess I need at least some time off."

Akatsuki nodded.

"That being said, I'm right in the middle of writing this letter. It'll take a few minutes to finish, then I'll stop early and eat with everyone and relax for the evening. Does that sound okay?" He suggested with some excitement.

"It sounds perfect, my lord," she answered while leaning further in, moving her arms around to the front of his body and hugging him from behind. "And I'll be waiting right here."


End file.
